The start of November brings the start of National Career Development Month, a month the Skidmore Career Development Center (CDC) plans to celebrate. The CDC is a part of the National Career Development Association (NCDA), and for years the NCDA has declared November National Career Development month. The goal of the month is “to bring awareness to students and individuals about the importance of career development” says Kim Crabbe, Executive Director of the CDC.
“We have many programs planned to help encourage students to participate in this important [career development] process,” said Crabbe. Some of the events planned for the month of November include “Meet the Career Coaches” (a social media Facebook campaign to introduce students to their peer career coaches and raise awareness of services provided at the CDC), “Drive Thru Resume”, “Build- a-Resume” (which allows students to rotate through five stations and leave with a completed resume) and “Internship Search Strategies”.
In addition to the CDC celebrating National Career Development Month, they also have a “What’s NEXT initiative” taking place. This initiative is “a developmental model that allows a student to progress through the career decision-making process in a developmentally-appropriate way,” says Crabbe. Each program being offered during the month of November is targeted at a different class and is built around different goals. First year activities, such as the “Build-a-Resume” program, are designed around goals of discovery and self-awareness. Second and third year events are centered on exploration, while senior year events focus on the transformation.